Prostacyclin (PGI2) is a lipid molecule derived from arachidonic acid through the cyclooxygenase pathway. It is a potent vasodilator, antiproliferative, anti-thrombotic and antiplatelet agent that mediates its effects as an agonist of a G protein-coupled receptor (PGI2 receptor; e.g., human PGI2 receptor, GenBank® Accession No. NP_000951 and alleles thereof). It is known that the binding of PGI2 (or other such agonist) to the PGI2 receptor leads to coupling with the Gs protein and increases intracellular cAMP levels. (See, e.g., Zhang et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 2006, 454:80-88.)
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening disease characterized by a progressive pulmonary vasculopathy leading to right ventricular hypertrophy. Right heart failure occurs if left untreated. Prostacyclin, which has vasodilatory and antiproliferative effects on the pulmonary vasculature has been found to be low in patients with PAH compared with normal controls. Exogenous administration of prostacyclin or an analog of prostacyclin (i.e., an agonist of the PGI2 receptor) has become an important strategy in the treatment of PAH. (See, e.g., Tuder et al., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care. Med., 1999, 159:1925-1932; Humbert et al., J. Am. Coll. Cardiol., 2004, 43:13S-24S; Rosenzweig, Expert Opin. Emerging Drugs, 2006, 11:609-619; McLaughlin et al., Circulation, 2006, 114:1417-1431; Rosenkranz, Clin. Res. Cardiol., 2007, 96:527-541; Driscoll et al., Expert Opin. Pharmacother., 2008, 9:65-81.)
Trepostinil and iloprost are FDA-approved analogs of prostacyclin which, like prostacyclin, are not orally-active. Beraprost is an orally-active analog of prostacyclin approved for the treatment of PAH in Japan, but it has failed registration for the treatment of PAH in Europe and in the US. Of the three FDA-approved drugs, prostacyclin is the best studied in PAH patients. The approximate annual cost of treating PAH with these drugs is $25,000 to $200,000 depending on the dose. At present, many experts consider intravenous prostacyclin to be the most reliable agent for managing the sickest PAH patients. Due to the short half-life of prostacyclin, intravenous treatment is complicated by the need for a continuous infusion. Patients are at risk for potentially fatal rebound pulmonary hypertension if the infusion is abruptly disrupted, as well as significant risk of catheter-related complications including sepsis. (See, e.g., Rosenzweig, Expert Opin. Emerging Drugs, 2006, 11:609-619; Naeije et al., Expert Opin. Pharmacother., 2007, 8:2247-2265; Strauss et al., Clin. Chest. Med., 2007, 28:127-142; Driscoll et al., Expert Opin. Pharmacother., 2008, 9:65-81.)
There is considerable interest in developing prostacyclin analogs (i.e., agonists of the PGI2 receptor) for use in the treatment of other diseases, such as atherothrombosis. Developing stable, orally-active analogs of prostacyclin (i.e., stable, orally-active agonists of the PGI2 receptor) is a rate-limiting step in achieving this goal (see, e.g., Arehart et al., Curr. Med. Chem., 2007, 14:2161-2169; Arehart et al., Circ. Res., 2008, Mar. 6 Epub ahead of print), as well as in the improved management of PAH.